Bulletin Announcements December 1, 2019
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Matthew 21:3 – “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’and he will send them at once.” Just a colt and her foal. How significant could they be? Could they really be used by the Lord for some great, heavenly purpose? This is one facet of stewardship we often forget: it is a blessing to us to be of service in the Lord’s kingdom. What honor the Lord bestows upon us by using our gifts for His goals.
FAITH IN ACTION OF BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL: One ride, one visit, one Senior at a time. Need a ride? Want to volunteer? Need more information? Call (309) 827-7780; or email: office@bnfia.org or contact Barry Hamlin at (309) 750-9424.
OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Choir Room which is located on the 2nd level (the west side).
THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS meets in the basement at 9:15 a.m.
TODAY following the 10:30 Worship Service we will decorate the church for Advent/Christmas. We will enjoy lunch, deck the church and be jolly!
MIDWEEK ADVENT SERVICES: Our Midweek Advent Services begin this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The theme is: “Advent Calendars” and this week’s message: “Advent Calendars: Time”. The fellowship begins with a meal in the church basement at 5:30 p.m. You may sign-up for food in the narthex. Each week there will be a free-will Offering and this week it goes to Wittenberg Lutheran Center at Illinois State University.
THE ADVENT DEVOTIONS titled “Call His Name Jesus” are available on the table in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today.
THE “SHARING TREE” is up and ready. Please consider helping The Baby Fold’s foster children. Choose an item from the tree and return to Church by this coming Wednesday, December 4th (Midweek Advent Service). If you are buying clothing please include a Gift Receipt. Any questions can be directed to Toni Lueck or Paula Hardy. Thank you.
POINSETTIAS SIGN-UP: There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex for poinsettias that will be on the altar for Christmas. The cost is $10.00 each and you will need to sign-up by Wednesday, December 18th. There is an envelope on the table in the narthex for your check or cash. Please make your check payable to: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and write Poinsettia on the memo line. If you have any questions, please contact Jackie Kwasny at (309) 662-4995 ot Luanne Huth at (309) 829-6897.
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: In order to get more people involved in our Coffee/Donut Fellowship for 2019 we have two separate sign-ups: Donut Pick-up and Coffee Set-up. We would like to encourage you to sign-up for one or the other. You may also sign-up for both if you wish. The sign-up sheet is by the door by the north stairwell.
YOU ARE INVITED to “Journey To The Manger” at Christ Lutheran Church, 311 N. Hershey Rd. in Normal next Sunday, December 8th from 5-7:00 p.m. Free “Tours” include: Live drama and animals; singing and music; indoor and outdoor scenes and hot chocolate and cookies. Meals are available for purchases from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. If you have any questions please call the church at (309) 452-5609.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “God’s Yes” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Romans 8:18-39. (Loved and Sent Series.) If we say that God’s purpose is simply to take our souls to heaven when we die, we might miss God’s bigger ‘yes’ . . .God’s ‘yes’ to putting bodies and souls back together again in the resurrection, God’s ‘yes’ to creation as He intended it to be. The speaker will be, Dr. Michael Zeigler. Hear his message on The Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tune in! You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org.
FROM THE OFFICE: The church now has a new email address. Our new email address is: office@goodshepherdblm.org.
FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE: If you miss church, please be reminded that copies of the previous week’s sermon are available on the table in the narthex. Also, the sermon will be available on our web site at www.goodshepherdblm.org. Thank you.
INFORMATION REQUESTED: Please notify the church office if someone in the congregation or any family or friends are ill or hospitalized.
PRAYER CIRCLE: If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582. The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.
Stewardship Corner December 2019
Stewardship Corner
Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, is teaching those who follow Him that worrying about the necessities of life is idolatry: worshipping a false god. This is because worry and anxiety show what we care about. Our anxiety reveals what we love and to what we’re devoted. It reveals what we trust in.
This is why our Lord begins this section with an overarching principle: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
But you say: “I must eat and drink. I must have clothing to wear and have a home in which to dwell.” Yes, all these things you need. And Jesus says that your Father in heaven will ensure that you have them. He demonstrates this with a simple argument.
Your Father in heaven feeds the birds of the air, who neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns. He clothes the lilies of the field, who neither toil nor spin but are arrayed more luxuriously than Solomon in all his glory. If, then, your Father in heaven feeds the birds and clothes the lilies, how will He not also feed and clothe you when you are worth more than they are?
For you know that you are worth more than them You are worth infinitely more. You are worth the price of the eternal Son of God. Did the Son of God come down from heaven and become a lily? Did he descend and take on the form of a bird? No!
He came down from heaven and became a man: flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. He is one of us, our brother. And what did He do when He became flesh to dwell among us? He gave His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death, that you might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom forever.
God became man in Christ Jesus. He lived the life we failed to live, and He died the death we deserve because of it. He was raised again on the third day to overcome sin and death … for us. He was crucified for our transgressions and raised for our justification. So, if your Father in heaven has given His Son to die for us in order that we might live with Him eternally, how will He not also give us all things to support this body and life?
To be anxious about the necessities of life, to devote yourself to food and clothing, to care about this and find security in it, is to serve another god. It is to deny that you will live forever because Jesus, the Son of God is risen from the dead, lives and reigns for all eternity. It is to believe that God – who created you, redeemed you by the death and resurrection of His Son, and sanctifies you by His Spirit – will not keep His promises of sustaining you in this life.
Jesus says this: Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. God’s kingdom is His rule among us. His rule among us comes when our Father in heaven gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. This is what we ask God to do for us in the prayer Jesus taught us.
Your Father in heaven knows what you need – food and clothing, house and home, etc. – and He promises to give it to you. Chief of the things you need is His grace and mercy in His Son, Jesus Christ. So, seek after that. Those who seek will find. And all the necessities of life, our Lord says, will be added to you.
Celebrating December 2019
Birthdays
| Matthew Culp | 12/3 |
| Jacob Piper | 12/3 |
| Eli McNeely | 12/6 |
| Kaitlin Culp | 12/7 |
| Brian Hitch | 12/7 |
| Kimberly King | 12/10 |
| Jason Williamson | 12/11 |
| Bill Nelson | 12/13 |
| Johana Kirchner | 12/14 |
| Katie Kleiboeker | 12/15 |
| Karson Lueck | 12/17 |
| Mo Dale | 12/19 |
| Matthew Holland | 12/19 |
| Heidi Doddek | 12/20 |
| Devin Kemp-Golden | 12/24 |
| Tanner Hitch | 12/28 |
| Audrie King | 12/30 |
Baptismal Birthdays
| Karen Dale | 12/1 |
| Theron Noth | 12/1 |
| Caleb Evans | 12/4 |
| Abby Biddle | 12/16 |
| Gordon Schroeder | 12/18 |
| Jeanette McNeely | 12/20 |
| Payton Biddle | 12/23 |
| Katie Kleiboeker | 12/23 |
| Jacob Piper | 12/23 |
| John Campbell | 12/25 |
| Marie Kirchner | 12/28 |
| Heidi Doddek | 12/29 |
| Karson Lueck | 12/29 |
Pastor’s Notes — December 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Recently Toni and I with an assist from Karson painted our bedroom. The preparation to paint took as long as the painting on that first day.
Karson and I first had to move some of our furniture out of the room. Then it was taking the electrical outlets, the cable outlet and the phone outlet out of the wall. This was followed by dusting and wiping down walls – oh my the dust! Then the vacuum got to see parts of our bedroom it had not been to in awhile. It was now time to commence taping – the two windows, the three doorways (bath, closet, hallway) and the baseboards. Was it time to paint? Not so fast, my friend. Preparations for what all were needed for this project still had to be done. Do we have the roller and the brushes and the newspapers and the cloths for spills and the bucket of water and the toolbox and the music? Oh, did someone get the paint? Don’t forget the most important part.
Don’t forget the most important part. Advent is a time of preparation. It is time to repent and meditate on the Word of God. Isaiah and John the Baptist and others share this message with us. Are you ready to paint/celebrate the Christ child? Painting, as most of you know cannot be done unless you prepare first. Advent prepares us for Christmas. But don’t forget the most important part.
Toni and I would have looked rather silly if after all this preparation we didn’t have the paint – the main thing for what we were doing. In the same way, if all of our preparations for Christmas are secular and not Christ-focused we lose the main thing. Prepare and worship the Christ child. Meet Him in the manger and understand that Jesus was born to save us from our sins. He comes to you in Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and in His Word.
When painting you need to wait until the paint dries to see the end result of what was taking place. Looks good dear! Christmas affords us that opportunity. The Advent prep becomes the Christmas reality. Looks good Lord!
Come All Ye Faithful joyful and triumphant to worship your Lord and Savior.
In Christ,
Pastor